Spinach-rice recipe - "Spanakoryzo"

One of our vegetable dishes is "spanakoryzo".

• 1 kg of spinach (we have already taken away the hard stems with knife and cut it into smaller pieces)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 cup. tomato juice
• 3/4 cup nychaki rice or carolina (white medium grain rice but you can use any type that is available)
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 bunch kafkalithres if available (aromatic herb)
• juice of 1 large lemon
• Salt Pepper

In a wide heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onions and leek for 3 minutes until they become translucent.

Then add spinach and kafkalithres, sprinkle the rice and the tomato juice. Mix lightly by adding 1 cup hot water. Add salt and pepper (at your preference) and simmer for about  20-25΄.

Finally pour chopped dill and lemon juice.

Helpful tips:

Spinach is a rich source of vitamins A and K, magnesium, folic acid and iron. The presence of vitamin C due to lemon makes the absorption of iron even better.

The rice -vegetable (onion, dill, spinach) combination provides fiber which helps to improve bowel function.

If you remove animal foods from your diet and you want to increase the amount of iron in your body, do not combine spanakoryzo with cheese because it contains calcium which prevents the absorption of iron.

"Kafkalithra"